Summary
It’s really easy to overspend on a motherboard when building a PC. 15 years ago, a $300 motherboard was considered outrageously expensive. But now, we have motherboards priced at a whopping $1300 — almost three times the cost of thebest gaming processor. While inflation does play a part, it mostly boils down to companies inventing arms races to see who can make the most ridiculous, stealthy-looking motherboards, and one-upping each other on features that mean nothing to the average consumer.
While high-end motherboards boast impressive features, you’re able to build a fantastic gaming PC without all those premium bells and whistles. For those upgrading orbuilding a new gaming PC, here’s why a mid-range motherboard might be the perfect fit for you.
Performance Gains Are Minimal for Most Users
Premium motherboards with RGB lighting and slick-looking designs can be tempting, but keep in mind: while motherboards focus on lots of features, they don’t have a significant impact on your PC’s performance compared to components like the CPU, GPU, and RAM. A well-equipped mid-range motherboard with a powerful processor and graphics card can deliver excellent results, considering games likeFortniterun flawlessly on low-end hardware. The motherboard is one of the areas where you may cut costs on your PC build without significantly impacting overall performance.
When choosing a motherboard, always go for the most affordable one that has the features you need (DDR5, USB-C, M.2, Wi-Fi, and so on). Most mid-range motherboards include almost everything you need for everyday use, including USB-C connectivity, onboard Wi-Fi, four M.2 slots, eight or more USB-A ports, and support for the latest features, like PCIe 5.0 and DDR5, so you’re not losing out on anything unless you’re an overclocker or creative pro who needs lightning-fast Thunderbolt 4 ports and 10G Ethernet.
Overclocking Is Not for Everyone
The MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk MAX WiFi and ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero boast similar specs, like compatibility with 14th Gen Intel processors, Z790 chipset, DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support, but the Dark Hero comes in at more than double the price of the Tomahawk. If you were to use the motherboards to build a gaming PC using the same hardware (CPU, GPU, RAM, and more), you’d notice no difference at all in real-world performance.
All the extra features that make the Dark Hero more expensive are 90% geared towards overclockers. It has more VRMs, better VRM heatsinks, onboard power and reset buttons, and better memory overclocking. These features make open-bench testing easier and help you overclock your CPU and RAM to reach the top spot on overclocking charts. But for traditional builds and everyday gaming, you’ll spend more on features that won’t make any difference in your daily use.
If you don’t care about overclocking or undervolting, you’re better off buying a mid-range motherboard and investing the extra money in a more powerful CPU or GPU that will actually improve performance. you may still do mild overclocking and enable XMP on most mid-range boards if you need that extra performance boost.
High-End Chipsets Don’t Mean Higher Performance
Back when SLI and CrossFire were common, a higher chipset could offer features that boosted performance compared to a mid-range chipset. However, modern mid-range chipsets offer everything you need to build a powerful PC. The only difference comes down to more USB/M.2/SATA sockets and overclocking support. Even for overclocking, only Intel requires a high-end Z-series motherboard, but AMD fully supports CPU and memory overclocking on its budget-friendly B-series chipsets.
For instance, take a look at ASUS' ROG Strix B760-A Gaming Wi-Fi and ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming Wi-Fi II offerings. These are very similar boards, but the Z790 version costs $125 more. The “cheaper” board has DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support, three M.2 Gen 4 sockets, nine USB ports (two USB-C), four SATA ports, built-in Wi-Fi, and an excellent VRM that can handle a 14900K. Unless you need the extra features of a high-end chipset, a mid-range chipset is often the better choice for most users. They offer excellent performance, a wide range of features, and significant cost savings without sacrificing much in terms of capability.
Best Mid-Range Motherboards
If you want to pick up a new mid-range motherboard, there are plenty of choices on offer, but the GIGABYTE B650 AORUS Elite AX V2 and the MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk MAX Wi-Fi stand out from the competition. The B650 AORUS Elite AX V2 is an AM5 motherboard, and it comes with full support for Ryzen 7000 series processors, DDR5 RAM, and PCIe 5.0 for graphics and NVMe storage. For $185, this motherboard can do everything an expensive motherboard can do, unless you’re into extreme overclocking.
The MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk MAX Wi-Fi is ideal for budget-friendly users with an Intel CPU. It’s a 2nd Gen Z790 motherboard, so it’s compatible with the 14th Gen Intel CPUs out of the box and includes new features like Wi-Fi 7. Coming in at less than $300, this motherboard covers all the basics pretty well and even includes future-proof DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support. Compared to high-end options like the ASUS Dark Hero, this motherboard will save you a lot of money and still offer a solid foundation for a powerful gaming rig. Whether you’re Team Red or Team Blue, you’re well on your way to picking out a great motherboard for your next build.
GIGABYTE B650 AORUS Elite AX V2
The GIGABYTE B650 AORUS Elite AX V2 is a mid-range AM5 motherboard with full DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 compatibility. It features adequate VRMs and a good set of features, including three M.2 slots (one with PCIe 5.0 support), 12 USB ports, Wi-Fi 6E, and beefy heatsinks for the VRMs and M.2 slots. If you don’t plan on doing a lot of extreme overclocking, this is a great budget-friendly option for building a capable AMD gaming PC.
MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk MAX WiFi
The MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk MAX WiFi is compatible with the latest 14th-Gen processors out of the box and features solid VRMs that can handle the 14900K without issues. It has robust features, including PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 support, four heatsinked M.2 slots (one PCIe 5.0-enabled), two USB-C and eight USB-A ports, and onboard Wi-Fi 7.
FAQ
Q: Does having a cheap motherboard affect performance?
Having a cheap motherboard does significantly impact performance, as long as you use good hardware in your build. However, cheap motherboards may have low-quality components that aren’t as durable as high-end motherboards and lack good overclocking support.
Q: What is the difference between a cheap motherboard and an expensive one?
Compared to cheaper motherboards, expensive motherboards have better build quality, more overclocking-focused features, and even more USB and M.2 sockets.
